Multifunctional portable power bank

ABSTRACT

A multifunctional portable power bank includes a main body having a circuit board and a battery arranged therein. The circuit board includes a first control unit, a second control unit connected to the first control unit, and a wireless transmission unit connected to the second control unit. The first control unit controls an input voltage of an external power supply and an output voltage of a battery power of the battery, and informs the second control unit to turn on. The second control unit enables a wireless access via the wireless transmission unit or an access via the Ethernet, and enables a router mode or a network service mode. With these arrangements, the multifunctional portable power bank not only enables data access via local or wireless networks, but also supplies electric power for charging other electronic products connected thereto.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable power bank, and moreparticularly to a multifunctional portable power bank that isconveniently portable and enables not only data access and expansion ofaccess device via local or wireless networks but also supply of electricpower for charging other electronic devices at any time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A wide range of portable electronic devices currently available in themarket, such as smartphones, tablet computers and the like, has beenconfigured to support fast-response and human-centered applications. Forthis purpose, advanced processors and many sensing elements are employedin designing the portable electronic devices. However, since theadvanced processors and sensing elements consume a high amount of powerduring the operation thereof, the portable electronic devices using themmust be supplied with supplementary power from time to time.

Currently, storage devices are provided for data access by users. Forexample, the portable power bank for mobile phone, NAND Flash storageand hard disk drive all are very common storage devices. Among others,the power bank also serves as a personal wireless server and alarge-capacity storage device, but it has a relatively big volume and istherefore not conveniently portable.

In recent years, due to the popularization of Universal Serial Bus (USB)interface and flash memory, USB flash disk—an alternative product havingbig storage capacity, excellent compatibility and good portability—hasbeen developed to enable convenient data transmission and transferbetween different computers and storage devices.

Further, a mobile hard disk drive (HDD) combining an external HDD traywith a removable HDD or a USB flash disk is developed. Data on themobile HDD can be accessed and transmitted by connecting the mobile HDDto a USB interface. However, the above data access and transmissionrequires a cable.

When a user wants to copy and transfer data on the mobile HDD via awireless network, the user must also carry about a wireless networkcard, a mobile storage device and a mobile power supply with him or her.Since the mobile storage device does not include any power supply unit,it has to be powered by the mobile power supply to enable normaloperation thereof and is therefore not convenient for use. Moreover,while the mobile storage device provides a relatively big storagecapacity, it is heavy and bulky and accordingly not suitable forcarrying about with the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide amultifunctional portable power bank that can charge a mobile devicewhile enabling another mobile device to access data via the Internet orother wireless manners.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctionalportable power bank that can serve as a server and enable cloud access.

A further object of the present invention is to provide amultifunctional portable power bank that can serve as a router.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide amultifunctional portable power bank that includes a built-in flashmemory to serve as a storage device and allows access to the flashmemory via network streaming.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide amultifunctional portable power bank that allows a hard disk drive (HDD),a card reader or a pen drive to connect thereto to serve as an externalexpanded access device, and allows access to the external expandedaccess device via network streaming.

To achieve the above and other objects, the multifunctional portablepower bank according to the present invention includes a main bodyinternally defining a chamber, in which a battery is mounted; and acircuit board arranged in the chamber of the main body and connected tothe battery. The circuit board includes a buck converter connected to afirst connector and the battery; a booster connected to the battery anda second connector; a first control unit connected to the buckconverter, the booster, a changeover switch and an LED indicator forcontrolling the buck converter to reduce an external power supplysupplied thereto to a voltage matching that of a battery power of thebattery and controlling the booster to boost the battery power suppliedthereto to a preset voltage; a second control unit connected to thefirst control unit and a wireless transmission unit, and including aconnection interface, an Ethernet interface, and a plurality of modulessupporting network and file access for controlling network/cloud datatransmission and access; an Ethernet connector connected to the Ethernetinterface; a regulator connected to the battery and the second controlunit, so that the battery power is supplied to the second control unitand the wireless transmission unit via the regulator; and a connectorunit connected to the connection interface of the second control unit, aflash memory and a third connector. The connector unit includes ahub/switch and a controller; the hub/switch is connected to thecontroller and the third connector, and the controller is connected tothe flash memory.

The main body includes an upper case and a lower case connected to eachother to define the chamber therebetween. The upper case has a top walland a plurality of sidewalls perpendicularly and downwardly extendedfrom peripheral edges of the top wall. The top wall is provided with apush button corresponding to the changeover switch and a plurality oflight-transmitting sections corresponding to the LED indicator. One ofthe sidewalls is provided with a plurality of through holescorresponding to the first connector, the second connector, the thirdconnector, and the Ethernet connector, respectively.

According to the present invention, the first, second and thirdconnectors are USB connectors, the connector unit is a USB connectorunit, the hub/switch is a USB hub/switch, and the controller is a USBcontroller; and the connection interface is a USB connection interface.

According to the present invention, the second connector is configuredfor connecting to a device to be charged, so as to charge the device;and the third connector is configured for connecting to an externalstorage device, so that the second control unit uses the externalstorage device as an expanded access device.

According to the present invention, the external storage deviceincludes, but not limited to, a hard disk drive, a card reader or a pendrive; the plurality of modules supporting network and file accessinclude a server module, a router module, a cloud storage managementmodule, a file system module and a secure sockets layer (SSL) module.

According to the present invention, the first control unit and thesecond control unit are connected to each other via a bus; and thewireless transmission unit includes an antenna.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a multifunctional portablepower bank according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a circuit board for the multifunctionalportable power bank according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing the connection of the presentinvention to an external power supply, a device to be charged, and anexternal storage device;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a second control unit for themultifunctional portable power bank according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a wireless transmission unit for themultifunctional portable power bank according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a conceptual view showing the application of the presentinvention to remote connection; and

FIG. 8 is a conceptual view showing the application of the presentinvention to local connection.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with a preferred embodimentthereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, in which a multifunctional portablepower bank according to a preferred embodiment of the present inventionis shown. As shown, the multifunctional portable power bank of thepresent invention includes a main body 10 including an upper case 11 anda lower case 12 connected to each other to define a chamber 18 betweenthem, and a battery 20 and a circuit board 30 arranged in the chamber18.

The battery 20 receives an external power supply (V_(out)) for storingelectric power therein, and the stored electric power can be output as abattery power (V_(bat)). The output battery power can be, but notlimited to, a direct current of 3.6V˜5V. The battery 20 can be, but notlimited to, a lithium-ion battery, a lithium iron phosphate (LFP)battery, a lead-acid battery, or a lithium manganese battery.

Please refer to FIG. 4A. The circuit board 30 includes a buck converter302 connected to a first connector 301 and the battery 20; a booster 303connected to the battery 20 and a second connector 307; a first controlunit 305 connected to the buck converter 302, the booster 303, achangeover switch 306, and a light-emitting-diode (LED) indicator 308.When the external power supply (V_(out)) is supplied via the firstconnector 301 to the buck converter 302, the first control unit 305controls the buck converter 302 to reduce the external power supply to avoltage matching that of the battery power of the battery 20. When thebattery 20 is fully charged, the first control unit 305 stops theexternal power supply (V_(out)) from charging the battery 20 any furtherto protect the battery 20 against overcharging. The first control unit305 also prevents the battery power of the battery 20 from being overlyoutput to a device being charged. Further, when the battery power(V_(bat)) of the battery 20 is output via the booster 303 to the secondconnector 307, the first control unit 305 controls the booster 303 toboost the battery power (V_(bat)) to a preset voltage.

A second control unit 310 is connected to the first control unit 305 viaa bus 309. A wireless transmission unit 311 is connected to the secondcontrol unit 310 and includes an antenna 3111. The second control unit310 includes a connection interface 3101, an Ethernet interface 3102,and a plurality of modules supporting network and file access (shown inFIG. 5) for controlling network/cloud data transmission and access. AnEthernet connector 312 is connected to the Ethernet interface 3102.

A regulator 314 is connected to the battery 20 and the second controlunit 310. The battery power (V_(bat)) is supplied via and regulated bythe regulator 314 to form a battery power with a stable voltage forsupplying to the second control unit 310 and the wireless transmissionunit 311.

A connector unit 313 is connected to the connection interface 3101 ofthe second control unit 310, and includes a hub/switch 3131 and acontroller 3132. The hub/switch 3131 is connected to the controller 3132and the connection interface 3101. In the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the connector unit 313 is preferably a USB connectorunit, the hub/switch 3131 is preferably a USB hub/switch, and thecontroller 3132 is preferably a USB controller; and the connectioninterface 3101 is preferably a USB connection interface.

A flash memory 316 is connected to the controller 3132. The controller3132 operates based on data input to the flash memory 316 and generatesan error detection code (EDC) or an error correction code (ECC). A thirdconnector 315 is connected to the hub/switch 3131.

The first connector 301 can be, but not limited to, a mini USBconnector; and the second and the third connector 307, 315 canrespectively be, but not limited to, a USB connector, as shown in FIGS.1 and 2. Herein, the USB referred to generally includes USB1.0, USB2.0and USB3.0. As shown in FIG. 4B, the first connector 301 in thepreferred embodiment can be connected to an external power supply 40 forcharging the battery 20; the second connector 307 can be connected to adevice to be charged 41, such as a smartphone or other tablet computer,and the third connector 315 can be connected to an external storagedevice 42. When the device to be charged 41 is connected to the secondconnector 307 and charged by the battery power of the battery 20, thefirst control unit 305 detects whether the device 41 has been fullycharged. If yes, the first control unit 305 would stop the battery 20from charging the device 41 any further. When the external storagedevice 42 is connected to the third connector 315, the second controlunit 310 detects the existence of the external storage device 42 anduses the latter as an expanded access device. The external storagedevice 42 includes, but not limited to, a hard disk drive (HDD), a cardreader, or a pen drive.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the second control unit 310 showing theplurality of modules therein for supporting network and file accessincludes a server module 3103, a router module 3104, a cloud storagemanagement module 3105, a file system module 3106, and an SSL (SecureSockets Layer) module 3107. The server module 3103 includes a Web serverand an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server, an HTTP (Hypertext TransferProtocol) server, or an SFTP (Secure Shell File Transfer Protocol)server. With the server module 3013, the multifunctional portable powerbank of the present invention can serve as a server. When a client isconnected to the portable power bank of the present invention in a wiredor a wireless manner, contents on the server, i.e. the portable powerbank, can be browsed or accessed via a browser or an APP (application)on the client. The contents on the server can include text data, graphicdata and multimedia data stored in the flash memory 316 or stored in theexternal storage device 42, as shown in FIG. 4B. With the router module3104, the multifunctional portable power bank of the present inventioncan be connected to devices over more than two separate networks. Thecloud storage management module 3105 supports a client to upload theclient's data via the Internet for storing the data in the flash memory316 of the multifunctional portable power bank or the external storagedevice 42, as shown in FIG. 4B. The file system module 3106 manages datain the flash memory 316 and data in the external storage device 42, asshown in FIG. 4B. The SSL module 3107 provides transmission securityover the Internet to ensure confidentiality and integrity ofcommunication and authenticates a server's identity.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the wireless transmission unit 311. Asshown, the wireless transmission unit 311 includes a Wi-Fi module 3112,a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) module 3113, and a radio frequency(RF) module 3114. With these modules 3112, 3113, 3114, themultifunctional portable power bank of the present invention supportswireless transmission protocols and upgrades the quality of wirelesstransmission. The wireless transmission unit 311 further includes amedia access control (MAC) address module 3115 for filtering clientsbased on their MAC addresses, so as to admit or deny the connection ofclients to the wireless network. In this manner, it is able toeffectively control the wireless clients' access right.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3 again. The upper case 11 includes a topwall 13 and a plurality of sidewalls 14 a˜14 d perpendicularlydownwardly extended from peripheral edges of the top wall 13. The topwall 13 is provided with a push button 15 corresponding to thechangeover switch 306, and a plurality of light-transmitting sections 16corresponding to the LED indicator 308. One of the sidewalls 14 a˜14 d,such as the sidewall 14 a, is provided with a plurality of through holes17 a˜17 d corresponding to the first connector 301, the second connector307, the third connector 315 and the Ethernet connector 312,respectively.

The applications of the multifunctional portable power bank of thepresent invention in remote connection and local connection are nowexplained with two examples as below.

Remote Connection

Please refer to FIG. 7 along with FIGS. 4A, 4B and 5. Themultifunctional portable power bank of the present invention can beconnected to a Wide Area Network (WAN) 44 by connecting an Ethernetcable 43 to the Ethernet connector 312; to a device to be charged 41,such as a smartphone, by connecting a transmission cable to the secondconnector 307; and to an external storage device 42, such as a portableexternal hard disk drive, by connecting a transmission cable to thethird connector 315. When the changeover switch 306 is turned on, thebattery power of the battery 20 is supplied to the first control unit305, the second control unit 310, the wireless transmission unit 311 andthe LED indicator 308 for them to work. The first control unit 305controls the battery power of the battery 20 to charge the device to becharged 41 via the second connector 307 while detects whether the device41 has been fully charged. When it is detected the device 41 has beenfully charged, the first control unit 305 controls the battery 20 tostop charging the device 41. Meanwhile, via the bus 309, the firstcontrol unit 305 informs the second control unit 310 to actuate therouter module 3104 in the second control unit 310. Another mobile device46 at a remote location can be connected to the multifunctional portablepower bank of the present invention by connecting to the WAN via awireless hotspot. And, through linking of a browser or a suitable APP inthe mobile device 46 to the server module 3103 and the cloud storagemanagement module 3105 in the second control unit 310, the remote mobiledevice 46 can browse or access the contents in the flash memory 316 andthe external storage device 42.

Local Connection

Please refer to FIG. 8 along with FIGS. 4A, 4B and 5. A device to becharged 41, such as a smartphone, can be connected via a transmissioncable to the second connector 307. An external storage device 42, suchas a portable external hard disk drive, can be connected via atransmission cable to the third connector 315. When the changeoverswitch 306 is turned on, the battery power of the battery 20 is suppliedto the first control unit 305, the second control unit 310, the wirelesstransmission unit 311 and the LED indicator 308 for them to work. Thefirst control unit 305 controls the battery power of the battery 20 tocharge the device to be charged 41 via the second connector 307 whiledetects whether the device 41 has been fully charged. When it isdetected the device 41 has been fully charged, the first control unit305 controls the battery 20 to stop charging the device 41. Meanwhile,via the bus 309, the first control unit 305 informs the second controlunit 310 to actuate the router module 3104 in the second control unit310. The second control unit 310 also enables the Wi-Fi module 3112and/or the MIMO module 3113 and/or the RF module 3114 and/or the MACaddress module 3115 in the wireless transmission unit 311. Anothermobile device 47 within a local area can be wirelessly connected to thewireless transmission unit 311 via a wireless signal, such as a Wi-Fisignal, transmitted by the mobile device 47 and received by the antenna3111. And, through linking of a browser or a suitable APP in the mobiledevice 47 to the server module 3103 and the cloud storage managementmodule 3105 in the second control unit 310, the remote mobile device 47can browse or access the contents in the flash memory 316 and theexternal storage device 42.

The present invention has been described with a preferred embodimentthereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in thedescribed embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scopeand the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multifunctional portable power bank,comprising: a main body internally defining a chamber, in which abattery is mounted; and a circuit board being arranged in the chamber ofthe main body and connected to the battery; the circuit board including:a buck converter connected to a first connector and the battery; abooster connected to the battery and a second connector; a first controlunit connected to the buck converter, the booster, a changeover switch,and an LED indicator; the first control unit controlling the buckconverter to reduce an external power supply supplied thereto to avoltage matching that of a battery power of the battery; and controllingthe booster to boost the battery power supplied thereto to a presetvoltage; a second control unit connected to the first control unit and awireless transmission unit; and the second control unit including aconnection interface, an Ethernet interface, and a plurality of modulessupporting network and file access for controlling network/cloud datatransmission and access; an Ethernet connector connected to the Ethernetinterface; a regulator connected to the battery and the second controlunit; and the battery power being supplied to the second control unitand the wireless transmission unit via the regulator; and a connectorunit connected to the connection interface of the second control unit, aflash memory and a third connector; the connector unit including ahub/switch and a controller; the hub/switch being connected to thecontroller and the third connector, and the controller being connectedto the flash memory.
 2. The multifunctional portable power bank asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the main body includes an upper case and alower case connected to each other to define the chamber therebetween;the upper case having a top wall and a plurality of sidewallsperpendicularly and downwardly extended from peripheral edges of the topwall; the top wall being provided with a push button corresponding tothe changeover switch and a plurality of light-transmitting sectionscorresponding to the LED indicator; and one of the sidewalls beingprovided with a plurality of through holes corresponding to the firstconnector, the second connector, the third connector, and the Ethernetconnector, respectively.
 3. The multifunctional portable power bank asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the first, second and third connectors arerespectively a USB connector.
 4. The multifunctional portable power bankas claimed in claim 1, wherein the connector unit is a USB connectorunit, the hub/switch is a USB hub/switch, and the controller is a USBcontroller, and the connection interface is a USB connection interface.5. The multifunctional portable power bank as claimed in claim 1,wherein the second connector is configured for connecting to a device tobe charged.
 6. The multifunctional portable power bank as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the third connector is configured for connecting to anexternal storage device, and the second control unit using the externalstorage device as an expanded access device.
 7. The multifunctionalportable power bank as claimed in claim 6, wherein the external storagedevice is selected from the group consisting of a hard disk drive (HDD),a card reader, and a pen drive.
 8. The multifunctional portable powerbank as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of modules supportingnetwork and file access includes a server module, a router module, acloud storage management module, a file system module, and an SSL(Secure Sockets Layer) module.
 9. The multifunctional portable powerbank as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first control unit and thesecond control unit are connected to each other via a bus.
 10. Themultifunctional portable power bank as claimed in claim 1, wherein thewireless transmission unit includes an antenna.